Earthen
}} Earthen are stony proto-beings, similar to dwarves, that were created by the Titans to help shape the world of Azeroth. They hibernated after the destruction of the Well of Eternity and transformed into dwarves upon awakening. The history of the earthen and their transformation into the race known as dwarves can be found recorded in the Discs of Norgannon in Uldaman. History War of the Ancients Before the War of the Ancients, technology was rare, and most tinkers and simple technology was found among the earthen. During the War of the Ancients, most "dwarves" chose to seal the gates of their underground cities, leaving the night elves to face the demons on their own. However, while they didn't have much contact, the earthen fought during the war. They fought an underground war in the shadows to prevent the return of the demons to the world of the living. Another group of earthen were convinced to join the Alliance against the Legion by the dragon-mage Krasus, even while being looked down upon by the night elves. It was a reluctant truce, as the earthen were called in by Krasus, Rhonin, and Malfurion in defiance of the xenophobic commander, Desdel Stareye. They were led by Dungard Ironcutter. The earthen were initially put to the outskirts of the host, but after Stareye's "tragic" demise, their warriors were put to their best use under the new commander, Jarod Shadowsong. When the world was sundered by the Well of Eternity's implosion, the earthen were deeply affected. Something happened to change them, perhaps the War of the Ancients, and many turned into the mortal dwarves, as they are now. Reeling with the pain of the earth itself, the earthen lost much of their identity and sealed themselves within the stone chambers where they were first created: Uldaman, Uldum, and Ulduar, the Titan cities where the earthen first took shape and form. Buried deep beneath the world, the earthen rested in peace for nearly eight thousand years. Awakening Though it is unclear what awakened them, the earthen sealed within Uldaman eventually arose from their self-imposed slumber. These earthen found that they had changed significantly during their hibernation. Their rocky hides had softened and become smooth skin, and their powers over stone and earth had waned. They had become mortal creatures. They had forgotten most of their history before coming out the slumber. The last of the earthen left the halls of Uldaman and ventured out into the waking world. They were encountered by humans who called them "dwarves" a name which they adopted. The ones who didn't become dwarves, became troggs. It is unknown why some devolved into troggs while others evolved into dwarves. Earthen in the Modern Age While it was eventually discovered that the Curse of Flesh was responsible for the genesis of the dwarves and troggs, this did not in and of itself explain why there are earthen that still exist in modern Azeroth. It was only from Brann Bronzebeard's line of questioning that got an explanation from the Tribunal of Ages, it became understood that the earthen today are actually a second version created by the Titans after the discovery of the Curse of Flesh. Earthen 2.0, as it were, was created with an immunity to the Curse, and therefore will never transform. Otherwise, they are exactly the same as their dwarven/trogg ancestors. This fact gave (and still gives) the Explorers' League an invauluable resource in studying dwarven origins, how it relates to modern dwarf branches, and other works by the Titans. One curious note is that the earthen are the only race that are definitively known, so far, that the Titans made a version immune to the Curse of Flesh. Why they would choose the earthen is unknown. Whether other Titan races have Curse-immune versions also remains to be seen. It is revealed in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion by Gearmaster Mechazod that, like the gnomes, a catalyst for their transformation into dwarves may have been the "the Curse of Flesh" turning their stone skin into soft flesh. However, the source of this information seemed clearly dubious as Mechazod is quite obviously mad, but many mechanognomes have been found in the Storm Peaks amongst the titan ruins surrounding Ulduar, who serve as guardians of the titans work. Naming Although the present earthen of Ironforge, etc. call themselves the dwarves, the term "dwarf" appears to have been a derogatory term used by the night elves. Most of that history was later forgotten however as the earthen entered their slumber, and changed into the beings they are now. Brann Bronzebeard states in one of his books that when the humans first met the dwarves they just simply called them dwarves. Back when we created Ironforge we had no idea that anyone else existed in the world. We didn’t even have a written language — everything was handed down by word of mouth. Naturally, facts became legends and legends became forgotten. The early dwarves were so busy mining and smithing their little hearts out that remembering the past just didn’t seem all that important. They got very, very good at smelting ore and making things, but that was about it. However, from what we know of those early days, my people were happy. Then, one day, a couple thousand years ago or so, the first humans appeared at the gates of Ironforge. We know this because human written tales of the day tell of the race of short, stocky, bearded master smiths who shared a great love of crafting and storytelling. Dwarves, they called us, and thus we are known today, even though at the time we didn’t know the word literally meant “diminutive.” Ah well, it could be worse — they could’ve called us “beard-men” or “rockheads” or something like that. Since then the dwarves have kept this name. It should be noted that its unclear when humans first met the dwarves (it appears to be after the War of the Ancients), and that humans had been around since before the Sundering, then known as the Azotha. However, the fact that humans met dwarves who didn't realize there were other races around implies either that this occurred millennia before the War, or at some point after the Earthen's transformation. Physiology They are immortal. They have stone hides (or "rock skin") and are more "elemental" in nature. They do not need to breathe and can tunnel around without shovels or picks. Their beards are actually an intricate series of mineral growths. Category:Lore Category:Creatures Category:Humanoids Category:Earthen Category:Dwarves Category:Elementals